Openreach, which looks after connections from the phone exchange to customer premises, is sending out engineers to knock on doors in the worst-affected areas and fix problems on the spot.

If the building is safe – no no foul water or other hazards – and there’s no problem with the Openreach network leading to the building, they’ll replace wires, BT master sockets and modems damaged by flooding.

Openreach engineers will be knocking on your door for flood repairs

“The ultimate aim is to get customers in the worst affected areas re-connected as soon as possible,” Openreach said. “This saves the home or business owner the task of having to report the problem to their Communications Provider, and then waiting for Openreach to schedule an appointment and arrive onsite.”

“This approach allows us to tap into the local knowledge of our people and stakeholders, and get quicker resolution for those who need us most.

“As soon as the flood waters subside, Openreach will proactively send teams into impacted areas and work closely with residents to identify and fix faults caused by the excess water.”

If the customer has internal phone extensions damaged by floods, they’ll only be fixed as far as it takes to get their phone and broadband up and running, but engineers will explain how much work they can do free-of-charge.

Members of the Openreach Leadership Team will also be travelling to the areas where teams are being deployed to offer support to engineers.

Engineers in the Basingstoke area will visit Sperrin Close, and in Sunbury they’ll be in Lower Sunbury Road, near Sunbury on Thames.